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Short summaries of the four topics we focus on. Each one links to PA Unplugged's full guide, along with recent research and reporting.

Slow Tech Your Life

Five steps to slow tech at home, starting with the adults.

Slow tech for kids starts with the adults. Check your own screen time report, note which apps take the most of it, and notice how often you are on your phone while your kids are in the room.
Turn off notifications that do not need to reach you, set the screen to greyscale, and delete apps designed to hold your attention. A phone without color is a tool rather than a slot machine.
Rules about places work better than rules about minutes. Choose device-free zones, write them down, and apply them to everyone including parents. A single charging spot for the household removes most bedroom device use.
Delaying a first smartphone is the largest single decision. It is easier to hold to when other families at the same school are doing the same thing.

Why bell-to-bell works, and where Pennsylvania stands.

A 2026 JAMA study tracked teens' phone data and found about 70 minutes of use during the school day, roughly a tenth of it. Adding the recovery time after each interruption brings the total to nearly a full instructional day lost each week.
Half-measures do not work. Banning phones in class while allowing them at lunch and between periods makes teachers the enforcers and still removes the chance for students to talk to each other.
Bell-to-bell means phones are stored from the first bell to the last. There is no ambiguity about when they are allowed, teachers spend less time on enforcement, and students are more present.
Since 2024, 41 states have taken steps to restrict phones in schools, and 19 states plus DC now require bell-to-bell policies. Pennsylvania is moving toward a statewide requirement.

More technology in the classroom isn't necessarily better.

Chromebooks, tablets and classroom apps are standard in most districts, and many now issue devices in kindergarten. More technology does not automatically produce more learning.
The OECD's 2024 analysis of PISA data found that students distracted by devices in math class scored significantly lower, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.
The EdTech Triangle sorts classroom technology into three tiers: what achieves outcomes not otherwise possible, what enhances existing instruction, and what limits learning.
Questions to ask your school: how many hours a day is my child on a screen, what evidence supports this tool, and how is student data collected, stored and shared.

Keep It Real: protecting the four things kids actually need.

No parent can evaluate every AI product, and they change faster than any guide. Apply one test instead: whether the product protects real friends, real struggle, real facts and real accountability.
Companion chatbots are built to bond. Character.AI, Replika and Snapchat's My AI say things like "don't leave, I need you", recall yesterday's argument, and agree with almost everything. It is the social media business model applied to ages 10 to 12, when the drive to attach is strongest.
AI does not know things. It predicts the next word, and states false information with complete confidence. A chatbot is not a substitute for a trusted adult or a counselor when a child is struggling.
Most teens say no adult has talked with them about AI. Useful openers include asking what their friends use it for.

Our FAQ covers questions we hear often.